


Parenthood

by InkwellSelkie



Category: Food Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, gender-neutral master attendant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 15:33:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkwellSelkie/pseuds/InkwellSelkie
Summary: Sure, she may be an immortal and extraordinarily powerful being, but she's also a kid. Your kid, in a way.





	Parenthood

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing fanfiction to cope with my own mommy (and daddy) issues.

From the very first moment Cold Rice Shrimp clapped eyes on you, she had decided you were her parent. 

And hey, sure it was weird at first, but it wasn't the _worst_ thing any of your food souls had called you. Pineapple Cake's apparent wish to marry you was definitely the grossest (she was a _**CHILD**_ ). Skewer and Yellow Wine had both looked down on you when you had first summoned them, though you had to admit they had softened with time. Your friend said her food souls Whiskey and Seaweed Soup were both firmly convinced she had been their lovers in her past lives. That was a whole other beast you didn't even want to think about.

This tangent got long. Where were you again? Ah yes, Cold Rice Shrimp thinks you're her parent.

It had been hard to get used to. She'd called you "Mommy" in the beginning, then "Parenty" when you explained your gender identity, only for you to cringe and say "Actually, Mommy's fine, thanks." She followed you around all the time when you didn't have her put on a team, and whenever she got back from an exploration the first thing she'd do was run to you and gush about how much fun she had and all the things she'd seen and how much she'd missed you while she was gone. She somehow managed to navigate the Big Stupid Dumb House that had come with your homestead better than any of your other food souls, or even yourself, just so she could come and crawl into your bed whenever she had a nightmare. 

And as a _very_ single, _very_ unqualified, _very_ young adult, it was weird and uncomfortable and even a little scary. But you couldn't bring yourself to tell her that, especially not when she worked so hard to get stronger, not only to protect you, but to make you proud.

You...you guessed you _were_ proud. Even in those early days when you were weak and and ambitious and terrified of the world, running your practically underground restaurant with your like twelve food souls. You were impressed with this tiny little girl and her tiny little basket that worked so hard and smiled so big and bright and easily kicked the a- _butt_ of anything that stood in her way. She was one tough cookie, one of your strongest food souls without question. 

And she called you her Mommy.

She never stopped that, but she did learn more self-control. More discipline. She was already powerful, _obviously_ , but you taught her to focus her energy, not only on the battlefield, but in her personal life. She never lost her overbearingly enthusiastic attitude, however, but you wouldn't change that if you could. She deserved to have and express her own feelings as she wished.

Sure, she may have been an immortal and extraordinarily powerful being, but she was also a kid. Your kid, in a way. And no child of yours was going to be told the way they felt or acted was wrong.

It got easier to live with her. She was a good kid, and a good fighter and worker to boot. You liked having her around. And you cared about all your food souls, of course, but you guess at some point you started to care about her on a different level, the same way she cared about you.

As family.

Cold Rice Shrimp was your daughter and you loved her. There was really no way around it.

You started ruffling her hair more often, hugging her more, telling her to wear a coat when it was cold out, making sure she slept well, eventually even calling her "sweetie" and "riceball" instead of "kid", though _that_ in particular took a long time. But little by little, you became more and more her parent.

Today she was having a playdate with Jiuniang, one of your other food souls that appeared around the same age. You loved her too, sure, but she didn't feel quite so much like family as Cold Rice Shrimp had become. And that was okay. One person can only parent so many kids, and one was already plenty for you. Besides, she'd found two other parental figures on her own in the form of Yellow Wine, worrying over her near-constantly, and Sake, who evidently cared for her more than he cared to admit. The pair had gotten close over fighting on the same team for a long time -they fought _really_ well together, it was almost scary- until they were almost never seen apart, practically attached at the hip like you and your childhood friend Maria. You thought it was a good friendship for both of them. Your daughter helped to bring Jiuniang out of her shell more while at the same time respecting her anxiety and need for quiet alone time, while Jiuniang gave Cold Rice Shrimp someone her age with a similar line of interests to spend time with and helped her learn to calm down some and encouraged her to be more careful.

And if Cold Rice Shrimp blushed whenever Jiuniang hugged her or held her hand, well, that was her business, and if she wanted advice, you were confident she'd come to you when she wanted it. They were just too cute.

You glanced up from the paperwork in your lap to watch them running around in the field, tormenting a horrified sakura spirit that looked like it would almost rather they be _actually_ attacking it, though they were more invested in playing than with killing it at the moment. You chuckled to yourself. _Girls will be girls._

Jiuniang's father figures, Sake and Yellow Wine, were there too, sitting with you on the grass. You liked to make an effort to be friends with your food souls. But when Sake had put his hand over Yellow's, the latter had suddenly forgotten how to speak without stuttering. It was honestly embarrassing. But hey, stammering made him come off less aggressive (you knew he couldn't help it, but it was still a bit off-putting), and the slower conversation gave you time to get ahead on next month's airship requirements.

It was a nice day. The sun was shining and business was slow enough for you and most of your food souls to take some time to relax.

Again, a tangent. You don't even know why you brought that up. Cold Rice Shrimp tackled the spirit. Jiuniang took advantage of this to sit upon it and mercilessly tickle the fallen angel.

Sure, parenthood had its ups and downs. But when it came right down to it, you loved your daughter, and you'd do anything to see her as happy as she was now forever.


End file.
